What am I thankful for this year...

The past 365 days have been filled with change for yours truly. Last year as I sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, I was in a world of uncertainty. I was employed in a workplace where uncertainty was the norm. The three months prior to Thanksgiving 2012 had been literally filled with job interviews and the world seemed to be at my fingertips. Then in mid-October it all dried up. One early November evening I sent off a resume to a company I had never heard of and considered it the longest of long-shots and figured this was likely my last chance for 2012.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2012 and I, as I mentioned, was uncertain. I had interviewed with the employer whom I considered to be a huge long shot and had actually had a follow-up phone call but then on the week of Thanksgiving things went silent. I wrote it off just as quickly as I had gotten my hopes up.

Then two days after Thanksgiving I was offered the job and eagerly accepted. The following day I learned that my wife was pregnant. We forged ahead. We knew that the coming year would be full of changes. Our daughter was a full four years old and doing well in her first year of pre-school. We had the first Christmas in many years where we actually gave each other gifts (our daughter always had a mountain of gifts from Santa Claus).

On July 31st we welcomed our happy and healthy son into the world. Our daughter turned five years old just under two weeks ago and had one helluva birthday party to celebrate the occasion. She is in her second year of pre-school and very much prepared for the big, shiny world of Kindergarten.

So, in short, I am thankful to be gainfully employed and in a career path which has a bright future which my prior job very much prepared me for. I am thankful that I have two happy and healthy (not to mention extremely cute) kids. I am thankful that my wife continues to put up with me and encourage me each and every day. I am thankful that my in-laws are always there for us. Lastly, though, I am very much thankful for my parents. They are the one constant in my life. They have always been there, even when I was a total fuck-up. They love me, my children and my wife. They help us when needed and they made me who I am. They showed me the value of hard work and taking pride in what you do. They are getting older and sho no sign of slowing down which only serves as further encouragement and a reminder that there is always a bit more energy to get the job done right.